'Fearing Every Day': Students March To Capitol Building For Change
DENVER (CBS4) - Hundreds of students from East High School walked out of their classrooms at 10 a.m. on Wednesday to show their support for the student movement that spanned the country.
They walked out to honor the students of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
For Laura Amedeo this was personal.
She was a friend of Alex Schacter - who is one of the 17 victims killed in Florida.
She and others joined in song with a survivor of the 1999 Columbine massacre.
Walkouts are not new to East High School, but this one was different. It was a plea.
A plea proclaimed on signs for action to stop gun violence. They joined with students from Denver School for the Arts and other schools in their demonstration.
"They are fearing every day for their life to go to school, and their parents have to kiss them goodbye every morning like it's their last day," Amedeo said.
This march to the capitol echoed too close to home for others as well.
Kami Pollack's cousin, Meadow Jane Pollack, was also among those murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
As she marched down 16th street she reflected.
"I just like to be surrounded by the people I love and all the people who support me," she said.
At the Capitol, they joined students from other schools in chanting that gun violence has got to go, but the governor could not promise them that.
"You know a big part is just showing up," he said.
Alex Schacter and the other Florida students were remembered here, but changing the laws will prove much harder.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.
